Impressiveness of the Ancient Empires

Societies and cultures today have been greatly influenced by the ancient empires. I am more impressed by the greatness of the ancient empires than by their destruction. I am impressed by the laws and systems of government that were developed to keep the societies in order. The vastness of the ancient Persian, Greek and Roman empires is astounding. The Persian empire stretched from Egypt to India and embraced about 35 to 50 million people. It is incredible  how so many diverse peoples, languages, cultures and states were unified into a single state. The Persians also had a well organized bureaucracy with tax collectors, record keepers and translators to facilitate administration.

It is hard to think of democracy as a system of government without remembering the ancient Greeks. Solon in 594 BC helped shape Athenian politics from an Aristocracy to a democratic system. This early in history they abolished debt slavery, and more men could hold public offices and have a voice in the Assembly. With time even the poorest people could serve since those chosen to serve were also paid. Trade flourished in this empire. They had a harbor of 1200 commercial ships. Greek culture was spread from its cities, market places and councils. Its monuments, sculptures and theaters were evidence of a powerful empire. Today some of the ruins of ancient Greece can be seen. Learning was very important to the Greeks and they had a library of about 700,000 volumes! Greek became a language of the elite. Even today people still study classical Greek. The Romans build on what was learned from the Greeks. Every civilization after the Greeks has been greatly influenced by the thoughts, life and contributions of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle to Philosophy, science and ethics.